Tuesday, May 30, 2017

041717 16x12 Spring Plein Air in the Forest

This blog and the next are spring, plein air paintings that were on my camera phone when the phone SIM card locked up. The phone company had to send me a new one and one thing led to another and I didn't get it reactivated until one month later. So, these next two paintings were both done in early spring in April.

The day was overcast and gray with spring bursting forth. The day was warm but got chilly towards night fall. I select this spot int eh forest to paint. you can see my path heading off deeper into the woods. My dog is settling in.

My palette is pre-loaded with paint so I can just get the pochade set up and get started with a quick sketch of the scene.

I blocked in the dark edges of the creek using a mix of Cadmium Red Medium and Ultramarine Blue.

In early spring, the colors tend to be the bright spring green and soft violets that mix together to make soft ethereal hues.

I take off my glasses to paint on location. Being nearsighted means the distant details are blurred out letting me focus on the big picture and not get stuck on picky details.

Once the entire surface is blocked in, I can start to adjust values and add details.

Here's my set up right next to the creek. I did this painting between 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. I often lik eto paint in the late afternoon when the sun is not so high and glaring.